How To Choose The Right Laptop For Programming
October 23, 2022
Choosing the best laptop for programming is a difficult task. When it comes to purchasing your first laptop, you may be asking which laptop is ideal for programming.
Remember that while one person's favorite may be the best option for them due to their own needs and preferences, it may not be the ideal option for you. Choosing the best laptop for programming does not have to be difficult.
Here are some considerations before purchasing your next laptop:
Mobility.
Laptops come in all shapes and sizes. You’ll have to decide how portable you’d like your laptop to be. If you don’t have to carry your laptop around with you, then you should consider getting a 15-inch laptop. These will usually have better features and more screen space for multitasking.
If you travel a lot or work in different places, a 13 or 14-inch laptop may be ideal for you. These are lighter and still give you great performance and longer battery life. Unless you’re buying a 2-in-1 laptop, a touchscreen laptop isn’t necessary and doesn’t justify the added cost.
Display
The laptop display is one major thing that a programmer should consider. That's because this is what you'll be looking at nearly 99% of the time when working. So, don't settle just for any display. Big Built-in Screens and External Display Support are some things to consider when picking out a device.
If portability isn't an issue with you, try to get the biggest possible monitor you can. That's because smaller displays mean you have less space to work with. It also means that text, icons, and other user interface elements will be smaller, leading to more eyestrain.
A 4k display is overkill for a laptop, especially when you consider the added costs and the battery drain that you will encounter. Whatever you do, don’t buy a laptop with less than a Full HD 1920 x 1080 (1080p) display. If you have to pay a little extra to get 1080p, do it. Also make sure the display has good viewing angles; your laptop’s screen should not double as a mirror!
Processing Power (CPU)
Your laptop’s CPU has a huge influence on performance so you can’t afford to skimp on this one. There are many different types of processors with different specifications. Make sure to consider these specs. Some of the most important are cache size, number of cores, frequency, and thermal design power.
In general, a nice Intel core i5 or i7 processor with a frequency of 3GHz or more should suffice for most people.
Compared to a normal laptop user, a software developer will need to run a number of additional applications in memory such as the IDE (Integrated Developer Environment) and the actual code they’re testing.
8 gigs of RAM is probably enough to survive with a basic machine and basic coding tasks, but ideally you should be looking for at least 16gb of dual channel memory with the option of upgrading in future..
32gb will offer more flexibility, more is always better but it of course costs money. As a programmer hopefully you have an understanding of how much data your code needs to bring into memory! Of course keep in mind that things change over time, and what you’re working on today may be entirely different to your workload 1-2 years from now.
Storage type and capacity
Getting an SSD (Solid State Drive) should be near the top of your priorities. This will give you significant performance improvements over a standard hard drive. Every operation will be a lot faster with an SSD: including booting up the OS, compiling code, launching apps, and loading projects.
A 256GB SSD should be the baseline. If you have more money, a 512GB or 1TB SSD is better. If cost is a factor, opt for a smaller SSD, where your Operating System will live alongside your apps and frequently accessed documents (such as project files). Your remaining stuff, such as music or videos, can rest in a larger external hard drive.
You can’t afford to compromise on your laptop’s keyboard quality since it is what you’ll use to bang out code all day. I tend to go for laptops with a more compact keyboard layout.
The most important thing is to try out a laptop’s keyboard thoroughly before you buy. Make sure the keys are comfortable and easy to reach with good travel. A back-lit keyboard is useful if you intend to work in low-light conditions often.
Operating System
Your OS choice will depend on what type of programming you're doing. Are you working with mostly Mac systems? Or do you also compile programs for Windows? Do you prefer Linux systems, or do you need to work with all OS types?
If you're working with macOS, you should probably choose an Apple product. The company has a wide range of offerings right now, from the M1 MacBook Air to the 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Max. So, make sure you pick one that fits your budget.
But if you prefer Windows PCs, you have an unlimited number of options. You similarly have endless choices with Linux, as you can practically install it on any device. Nevertheless, some manufacturers offer laptops with a pre-installed Linux OS, so you may want to choose that instead.
8 gigs of RAM is probably enough to survive with a basic machine and basic coding tasks, but ideally you should be looking for at least 16gb of dual channel memory with the option of upgrading in future..
32gb will offer more flexibility, more is always better but it of course costs money. As a programmer hopefully you have an understanding of how much data your code needs to bring into memory! Of course keep in mind that things change over time, and what you’re working on today may be entirely different to your workload 1-2 years from now.
Storage type and capacity
Getting an SSD (Solid State Drive) should be near the top of your priorities. This will give you significant performance improvements over a standard hard drive. Every operation will be a lot faster with an SSD: including booting up the OS, compiling code, launching apps, and loading projects.
A 256GB SSD should be the baseline. If you have more money, a 512GB or 1TB SSD is better. If cost is a factor, opt for a smaller SSD, where your Operating System will live alongside your apps and frequently accessed documents (such as project files). Your remaining stuff, such as music or videos, can rest in a larger external hard drive.
You can’t afford to compromise on your laptop’s keyboard quality since it is what you’ll use to bang out code all day. I tend to go for laptops with a more compact keyboard layout.
The most important thing is to try out a laptop’s keyboard thoroughly before you buy. Make sure the keys are comfortable and easy to reach with good travel. A back-lit keyboard is useful if you intend to work in low-light conditions often.
Operating System
Your OS choice will depend on what type of programming you're doing. Are you working with mostly Mac systems? Or do you also compile programs for Windows? Do you prefer Linux systems, or do you need to work with all OS types?
If you're working with macOS, you should probably choose an Apple product. The company has a wide range of offerings right now, from the M1 MacBook Air to the 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Max. So, make sure you pick one that fits your budget.
But if you prefer Windows PCs, you have an unlimited number of options. You similarly have endless choices with Linux, as you can practically install it on any device. Nevertheless, some manufacturers offer laptops with a pre-installed Linux OS, so you may want to choose that instead.
Battery Life.
Battery is another crucial factor to consider when you’re buying a laptop for programming and gaming. As a programmer, you have to spend a lot of time coding, then you need day-long battery life. As an ideal programming laptop, it should have 12-14 hours of battery life so that you don’t need to spend most of your time near an electrical outlet.
Dedicated or Integrated Graphics?
A dedicated (also known as discrete) graphics card isn’t very important for coding purposes. Save money by going with an integrated graphics card. Invest the money you save in an SSD or a better processor which will provide more value for the money.
I’d love to know what factors you consider to be most important for a development machine and how it affects your work on a day to day basis.
Battery is another crucial factor to consider when you’re buying a laptop for programming and gaming. As a programmer, you have to spend a lot of time coding, then you need day-long battery life. As an ideal programming laptop, it should have 12-14 hours of battery life so that you don’t need to spend most of your time near an electrical outlet.
Dedicated or Integrated Graphics?
A dedicated (also known as discrete) graphics card isn’t very important for coding purposes. Save money by going with an integrated graphics card. Invest the money you save in an SSD or a better processor which will provide more value for the money.
I’d love to know what factors you consider to be most important for a development machine and how it affects your work on a day to day basis.
